Cats
by Fox Moonshadow
Summary: Every ship needs a cat. A collection of stories about the brave mousers of the sea.
1. Rex and Tarot

Rex yawned, watching the humans scurry about on the pier from his perch on the figurehead of his pet's ship. He had only had this particular pet for two moon cycles but he felt optimistic about him. His pet was a fine Marine of considerable rank, kept himself well-groomed, and always made sure Rex had enough to eat without trying to give him to much. Rex was sure the mouser cats who owned his pet's previous captains had had a paw in his training and he was grateful. Tilting an ear back, Rex half-listened to his pet chattering to the other humans. He was still learning human-sounds, but he could understand the basics. They were here to capture some magic-using hawk, or something to that effect. Human-marines didn't target hawks, though, so more likely it was a pirate with a name that sounded like hawk. Either way, it seemed Rex's pet planned to go alone, and that just wouldn't do at all. He was a good pet, after all, and it would be a shame to lose him. After all, Rex didn't know enough about human training to train his own pet if he lost this one. Nodding to himself, Rex checked that none of his pet's litter-mates were watching before jumping to the pier and following after his pet.

Rex's pet led him well into the city, before stopping near a human-made spring. Rex climbed a nearby tree and settled on a thick branch to watch as his pet made for a golden-furred human slightly smaller than him who was playing with some false-leaves. Cards, Rex thought he'd heard them called before. The two seemed to be chattering peacefully, perhaps this wasn't the hawk-pirate after all. Rex had heard that some humans would chatter with others while looking for pirates. Just as Rex was settling in to wait his ear flicked back to catch the sound of something light landing on the branch behind him. Reluctantly, he turned away from his pet to look at the black-furred queen who had apparently been resting on a higher branch. "Good afternoon. Would you like your fortune told?" The black queen asked, sitting just behind Rex. Rex noted briefly that she had a white patch on her chest and her eyes didn't match, the right eye being green while the left was blue.

"No thank you. I need to keep track on my pet." Rex said, turning Back to the two humans below. The gold was showing his pet something on one of the cards.

"I take it the marmalade is yours. Looks like my pet is reading his future." The black queen said, hopping nimbly to the branch beside his. "My name is Tarot, by the way. I Saw that a Marine would come for my pet today. I do not, however, See the shadow of death on either human." Rex turned back to the queen, checking her black collar to find no tag whereas he himself proudly wore the Marine's emblem on his own dark blue band.

"Your pet is the Hawk pirate we're after?" He had to be sure. Tarot gave him a small smile that nearly put his fur on end, and not for the reasons he would have expected.

"Basil Hawkins, captain of the Hawkins Pirates. My tag was lost in a recent fight, we're here to get a new one." Tarot said. Rex glanced at the humans again before sitting up and turning towards the queen.

"Perhaps I will have my fortune told, after all." He said, tail swishing slowly. Tarot smiled again and sat up, placing one paw on Rex's forehead and closing her eyes.

"Interesting. I See a great change in you life. Blood stains your claws. Your tag lies broken. A seagull dies." Rex's ears folded back. 'Seagull' was a common nickname for Marines, he knew that much. He glanced towards his pet who was still chattering with Tarot's pet. Was he in more danger than Rex thought? Tarot drew back her paw, turning towards the humans. "I'm sorry, there are to many paths the future might take from there. You stand at a crossroads, and I fear your future depends upon that of you pet. Stay close to him. It looks like they're done." Rex turned and, sure enough, the gold human was walking away, leaving his pet standing by the spring. Tarot jumped from the tree and followed her pet, jumping onto his shoulders when she was close enough and allowing herself to be carried away.

Rex watched as his pet sat on the low wall enclosing the spring, face hidden in his forepaws. Frowning, Rex jumped to the ground and walked to his pet, speaking softly. "It's alright, Drake." Rex's pet looked up on hearing his voice and started slightly, murmuring.

"Rex, what…going…do?" Rex wished his pet could understand him, even as poorly as he understood his pet. Instead of trying to talk, he jumped into his pet's lap and purred soft reassurances. His pet stroked him lightly, watching the direction the gold human had gone, before picking him up in his forelimbs and carrying him back towards the ship. "I'm done…a Marine. We'll have…see…from there." Rex just kept purring and hoped his pet wasn't about to do something foolish. The mental image of a dead seagull rose in his mind. He desperately hoped it wouldn't be his pet.

TBC


	2. Mouse

"Mama? Where are you Mama? Don't go. I'm sorry." Runt called as loud as she could, hoping her mother would come back. Runt's light grey fur was soaked with rainwater and she couldn't stop shivering, the box she was hiding in doing nothing to keep her dry. "Mama? Come back, Mama." Runt started when her box was suddenly moved away, dumping her onto the ground. A Big Thing crouched over her, much bigger than Mama was. Runt hissed, her fur bristling weakly, before her legs gave out under her. The Big Thing made a strange noise and moved forward, scooping the frightened kitten up off the ground. Runt hissed at the Big Thing, weakly demanding to be released, but the Big Thing just made more strange noises. After what felt like forever, Runt's little bit of strength ran out and everything went dark.

The first thing Runt noticed when she came to was that she was warm. Something soft was wrapped around her that kept the cold from getting in. The second was that the place she was in was very noisy and also smelled really good. Runt slowly opened her eyes, blinking up at the Big Thing that was still holding her. The Big Thing was making noises at lots of other Big Things, not as many as Runt's brothers and sisters, but still many more than just little Runt. One of the Big Things with a patch of gold on top of it suddenly pointed at her, drawing the other Big Things' attention back to her. Runt tucked her ears down and whimpered, wondering what the strange Big Things were going to do to her. The gold-topped Big Thing disappeared for a few moments before returning and giving something to the first Big Thing. The first Big Thing held the strange thing by Runt's face. Runt sniffed it, curious despite herself. Food! The Big Things were giving her food! Runt quickly grabbed the white thing the food was in with her claws so the Big Things couldn't take it away. First Big Thing made more noises, Runt thought they sounded like happy noises, and held her up so she could reach the food easier. Maybe the Big Things weren't going to hurt Runt. They gave her nice warm food and made her warm and there weren't even any Brothers or Sisters there to take her food away. Runt purred softly as she drank her food, listening to the Big Things make noises between themselves. She decided she might like the Big Things.

"How are you feeling?" Runt looked up at the Big Brown Thing that called itself Doctor. Doctor wasn't as big as the other Big Things, and Doctor was properly fuzzy while the other Big Things only had fur on the very tops of their heads. Doctor wasn't like any cat Runt had ever met, but then Runt had never really met any other cats besides Mama and Brothers and Sisters.

"Runt is all full." Runt said, purring softly in the warm place First Big Thing had given her. The Big Things were all so very nice to her.

"I'm glad to hear that. Are you warm enough?" Doctor asked, putting a hard paw against Runt's side.

"Runt feels nice." Runt said, her purring growing even louder. "Does Runt get to stay with nice Big Things in warm place with food?" Doctor chuckled, looking over at the bigger Big Things.

"Yes, you can stay here as long as you like. Luffy refused to hear a word against you staying." Doctor said, pointing to First Big Thing. So, First Big Thing was called Luffy. Runt didn't know what a Luffy was, but she was glad one had found her. Luffys were nice. "Oh, I was supposed to ask, do you have a name?"

"No, Runt is Runt. Runts don't have names, except for Runt. Runt doesn't like being called Runt, though." Runt said, tucking her head between her forepaws tiredly. "Will nice Luffy let Runt have name?"

"I'm sure he will. I'll talk to him, but you should rest now." Doctor said, stroking Runt's head-fur lightly until Runt feel asleep. Runt didn't have to be scared to sleep now, because she was safe in the warm place with food and nice Luffys.

Mouse purred softly, lining up her jump. Filthy rats thought they could get away with eating Luffy's food. Not while Mouse was around. Luffy was nice, after all. He'd saved Mouse from the cold alley, given her food, and even given her a name, all when she was just a little runt. Mouse was still little, but she was big enough now to help her humans protect their ship. Kneading her claws, she waited for the perfect moment and then pounced. Maybe she could give this mouse to the nice red-furred human, Nami. She liked getting presents.

TBC


	3. Melody and Zen, Interesting

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

Melody laughed as she raced down the streets. Her pet had said they would be on this island for a few days and she wanted to explore. She had been starting to feel cramped after being stuck on the ship for so long. A bright picture caught her eye and she turned to look. Looking while running probably wasn't the best of ideas. Melody realized this a few seconds later when she ran head-first into something big and soft, bouncing off and landing in a heap. "Hello, Little Queen. Are you alright?" Melody wasn't sure what kind of cat she'd run into. He was at least three times her size with tan fur and dark gray spots, a small number of stripes running down his neck. A band of red beads were strung around his neck with a tag with a symbol she didn't recognize on it. Blinking, Melody carefully pulled herself to her feet, stretching each leg and then her spine to check for damage.

"I'm okay. Wow, you must be the biggest cat ever. What breed are you? Are you a breed? What's that mark? It's really cool. Mine's the On Air Pirates Jolly Roger. My name's Melody. My pet Apoo is the On Air Pirate's captain. He's cool, even if he is silly and doesn't know when it's time to play. He plays music and I sing with him. Are you strong? You look really strong. Is your pet a pirate? Mine is. You pet isn't a Marine is he? My pet doesn't get a long with Marines at all. Marines are big meanies. What's your name? Why are you wearing beads? Are they special beads? Like magic beads that grow big bean storks? I really like them. Do you like my collar? It's pink like my pet's waist-collar thing. What is a bean stork, anyway? Is it like a regular stork, but tastes like beans? I ate beans once, they didn't taste very good. Have you ever eaten a stork? What did it taste like?" Melody asked, darting all around the large cat and climbing on top of him before jumping back to the ground. The large cat blinked before lifting a paw and dropping it on top of Melody on her next pass, pinning her to the ground.

"Slow down, Little Queen." He chuckled, glancing around the alley they were in briefly before lying down, making certain to keep the excitable Siamese he'd met pinned. "My name is Zen, and I am a feral breed called a Fishing Cat. I wear beads because my pet is a monk and my tag is our Jolly Roger. My pet is the captain of the Fallen Monk Pirates. I am very strong, yes. I think your Jolly Roger is, er, 'cool' as well. My beads are not magic, no. Your collar is very cute. I've never encountered anything called a bean stork, are you sure you don't mea bean stalk. It's a plant. I've never caught a stork, sorry. Anything else?" Melody stared up at the large feral, amazed. No one had ever followed her questions so well before. Most cats got annoyed as soon as she opened her mouth and tried to run her off, but this one was being very patient.

"Um, do you know where the docks are? I ran to far and got lost." She said, suddenly feeling bashful. Zen chuckled again and stood up.

"Follow me." He said, starting down the alley. He couldn't just leave such a small queen by herself and his pet was probably wonder where he'd wandered off to anyway. Most civil cats were afraid of him because of his size, but this one didn't seem to mind at all. He smiled to himself when the little queen jumped on his back and braced her forepaws against his head, looking around excitedly. Such an interesting little queen.

I have a good number of cats worked out, but I'm having trouble coming up with some. If anyone has any suggestions for cats who's 'pets' that haven't appeared yet, feel free to make it. If I already have that ship's cat worked out, I may still use it for another ship. Also note, not all the cats have to be ship's mousers. I plan on having at least Vivi's cat show up once I figure out how to introduce her.


	4. Mouse and Cloud, Rescue

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

Mouse sneezed softly, rubbing her nose with one paw to knock the white stuff off it. She was shivering, the bright red fabric coat Usopp had made her now to wet from trudging through the white stuff to keep her warm anymore. Letting out a sigh, she knocked the tiny straw hat Usopp had also made her back a bit so she could see and kept walking. She had to find her humans, the other queen was counting on her to save her pet. "Luffy. Usopp. Zoro." Mouse called as loud as she could, hoping the roar of the wind wasn't drowning her out. "Chopper-Doctor. Sanji. Nami." She yelped when a big bunch of white stuff suddenly fell on her. It took her a few seconds to push her way out and by this point she was half frozen. "R-r-robin. Fr-fr-frank-ky. Br-brook. Wh-where are y-you"?

"Mouse?" Mouse looked up at the familiar voice, even if she didn't understand anything beyond her name. She squinted slightly before recognizing the somewhat chilled hand that picked her up.

"Fr-fran-nky. Miss Cl-cloud need's he-help." She said, looking back the way she'd come. Franky said something before bundling her into his shirt and turning to walk further into town. "No!" Mouse squirmed, wiggling out of Franky's hands and ignoring his startled yell. "Cloud n-needs help!" Quickly finding her feet, Mouse raced back the way she'd come, glancing back every few seconds to make sure Franky was following her. By the time Mouse reached where she'd left the smoky-colored queen and her pet she couldn't feel her paws, tail, or ears anymore. She crashed into the unconscious human's side, unable to stop in time. Franky's startled cry was all she heard before everything went dark.

Cloud watched the strange furry-human who belonged to the little cat she'd found as he checked on her pet. She'd been worried upon learning that little Mouse's pets were pirates, but her pet hadn't responded no matter how many times she nudged his face or yelled in his ear, so she'd been just desperate enough to trust them. Looking down, she smiled at the brave little runt she was curled around. "You certainly found yourself some nice pets, little one. Well done." She murmured to the unconscious little grey, leaning down to groom her still-cold ears. The strange furry-human had said Mouse and her pet would both be okay once they warmed up a bit, so now she was just waiting for her pet to wake up. He would probably be upset to have been saved by pirates, but there was just no helping it. At least the injuries the other pirate crew had given him weren't as bad as they'd looked, Cloud would have to learn more about this 'Sea Stone' if it could hurt her pet. Cloud's ear twitched when she heard her pet groan, seemed it was almost time to go. She listened with one ear as he yelled at the pirates, still focused on grooming Mouse. It wasn't until the sickbay door opened that she stood up and stretched, following her pet out after throwing a quick 'thank you' back to the doctor. Honestly, she didn't know what her Smoker was making such a fuss about. They may be pirates, but Cloud thought her runty little sister had found herself the pick of the little.

TBC

Special thanks to CreativityIsWriting for suggesting a name and gender for Smoker's cat as well as suggesting she be one of Mouse's litter-mates. Her idea was for either Mouse to rescue Cloud or cloud to rescue Mouse, however I just couldn't find a scenario where Mouse would be able to rescue a cat twice her size, so Mouse gets to save Smoker who lost consciousness in the snow after some pirates got lucky with a Sea-Stone knife or something instead.

Also, Tashigi was the one who found and named Cloud. She gave her to Smoker for his birthday.


	5. Rat Trap

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.

"Ow." Rat Trap paused in her hunt, large ears twitching towards the soft voice. The golden kitten was hurt again, Rat Trap did so wish her pet would ease up on him. Tough love was all well and good, but there were times one's claws needed to be retracted. Rat Trap nudged the door to the kitten's room open slightly, looking in to find the kitten sitting on his bed with a cold compress against his chest where Rat Trap's pet had kicked him away from the stove earlier. This was the kitten her pet had sacrificed his leg, and their lives as pirates, for. Honestly, though, the cream-and-chocolate peterbald kind of preferred life as a restaurant's cat. Visiting ships brought in plenty of pests to keep her busy and she even got to talk with the other ship's mousers on occasion. Ah, but she was getting distracted (awful habit that, she'd once lost track of a great big rat because she'd gotten distracted by a bit of odd-colored light reflecting off a jewel). Rat Trap shook her head free of her distracting thoughts and looked back to the kitten.  
Sometime while she'd been distracted the kitten had apparently noticed her. He was staring at her, head tilted, as if he didn't quite know what to make of her. Rat Trap got that look a lot, mostly from customers who couldn't understand the beauty of a furless cat. Really, though, a furless cat was the only cat for a restaurant. One would think they wanted fur in their food the way they acted sometimes. "Hey, Kitty. Did you come to see me?" The kitten asked. Rat Trap's tail twitched, the kitten was gasping slightly when he talked. Rat Trap was no doctor, but even she knew that wasn't good. She hoped her pet hadn't kicked the kitten too hard this time. Wanting to make sure the kitten was okay, Rat Trap pushed past the door and trotted over to the kitten's bed, hopping up and nosing the kitten's side lightly, making the kitten laugh softly. The injury didn't seem to bad. "I don't get why that old geezer bothered to save me if all he was going to do is beat me up." Rat Trap mewed softly and rubbed her head against the kitten's chin comfortingly.  
"Don't give up, Kitten. He does care. Tough love is just the only love he know." She purred.

9 YEARS LATER

Rat Trap smiled tiredly as she watched her kitten, though he was probably a bit to old to call a kitten anymore, pace around his room, gathering his belongings and putting them in a bag on his bed. Mouse Trap, Rat Traps little pure cream apprentice, was sitting beside the aging cat and watching in confusion. "I don't get it, Ratty. Why's Sanji have to go? Did he do something wrong?" The young male asked, looking up at his mentor. Rat Trap chuckled lightly, smiling as her kitten darted into the bathroom to get his toothbrush and toothpaste (and a few washcloths, know her kitten's grooming habits).  
"No, he didn't do anything wrong. He's grown up now and it's time for him to set out and chase his dreams." Rat Trap explained. "All kittens leave their kitten-hood home when they grow up, just like you did. Humans just grow up slower than us cats, because it takes longer for them to figure out what they want."  
"Do you think he'll be okay? I didn't see any mousers on the ship he's going after." Mouse Trap said, laying down and watching Sanji fish his brush out from under the bed where the younger cat had hidden it earlier, giving the trouble-making tom a playful glare as he did.  
"He'll be fine. Sanji knows every ship needs a good cat, so I'm sure he'll find one when he can." Rat Trap said. Mouse Trap nodded as their shared pet walked in to have a last talk with the kitten he'd saved all those years ago. Rat Trap yawned and walked off, Sanji had already said his goodbyes to the cats so there was no need for her to stick around. It was time to let the kitten go.

SEVERAL MONTHS LATER

Sanji sighed as he read over the letter Zeff had sent him again. Old Rat Trap had lived far longer than most cats are expected to, but time had finally caught up with her. She'd gone to sleep one night and then never woke up. Sanji wiped away a tear before it could fall, idly scratching behind Mouse's ear with one hand. "You did good, Rat Trap. You've earned a rest." He muttered before carefully moving the sleeping fluff ball on his lap to her bed and getting up. He needed to clear the fur off his shirt before he could fix lunch. Things were so much easier with a furless cat.

TBC

CAT STATS:

Name: Rat Trap  
Pet: Zeff  
Gender: Female  
"Human-ese": Fluent  
Breed: Peterbald  
Color(s): Chocolate and Cream Tortoiseshell  
Hair Length: N/A (Furless)  
Collar: Blue

Name: Mouse Trap  
Pet: Zeff  
Gender: Male  
"Human-ese": Passable  
Breed: Peterbald  
Color(s): Cream  
Hair Length: N/A (Furless)  
Collar: Blue

The first chapter to show a human's perspective.


End file.
